


Routine

by Raelinae



Category: Free!
Genre: Also featuring Rufus the dog and Wobble the alien, Future Fish Au, M/M, This is reaaaaally old and kinda crappy I'll admit, getting together fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-02
Updated: 2014-10-02
Packaged: 2018-02-19 13:57:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2390825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raelinae/pseuds/Raelinae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Japanese legend cites a red string that binds fates together but maybe it's nothing more than coincidence. Two men are reunited with a third they've been missing for more than a decade and it takes a few questions and some persuasion, but they wear him down. For his part, Rin just thinks those two are insane.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Routine

Because according to a Tumblr blog it's Polyshipping Day- http://polyshippingday.tumblr.com/ - and I am all over this! I saw the post _way_ too late to put up anything new, and I had this done pretty much after Episode 2 of Eternal Summer, but never posted it... Haha. So instead of permanently rotting in my computer, might as well upload it, yeah? Anyway, this is a Future Fish AU!

* * *

** Routine **

Nanase Haruka had glanced at the clock- fifteen minutes left- just before cracking the eggs. The shrimp fried rice was almost finished and if he knew Rin (and he knew him well) the officer would be perfectly punctual. So long as nothing happened to get in his way. Then again, he'd developed something of an addiction to Haru's cooking, so Haru wasn't exactly worried. Makoto, though, could be late. Even if nothing horrible happened to him washing up tended to be time-consuming when one was covered in soot.

"Nanase!" The line cook hollered over the bustle of the kitchen. "Your visitor is here!"

Haru glanced up again. The clock told him they were early, but with a quick turn of the wrist the burner was off. Parsing out the food into a pair of to-go containers (half for Makoto and half for Rin) he tossed the utensils in the sink and hooked up his apron.  
"I'm taking my break."

The announcement was unnecessary; Fujimoto had already taken over his spot and the whole kitchen knew his schedule by now. He stooped to grab his mackerel lunch from the employee fridge and headed out the back door.

Rin was there leaning against the fence, his gaze unfocused as he stared at the end of the alleyway, both of them waiting for the third party now.  
"Rin."

Rin started and looked at him from under the edge of his cap with a smirk. "Haru."

"Here."

He thrust the first of the boxes to Rin, who merely laughed and took it, sitting right on the cobblestone in the middle of the alley.

They were sitting in silence for but a moment before Haru got tired of glancing at the end of the alleyway for Makoto and turned his attention to the partner present. "You came early."

Rin choked a little at the abrupt question. He cleared his throat and fixed Haru with a narrowed gaze and coy grin that faded as he went on.

"Got off my beat early. And besides, _you_ failed to get me up on time today, so you _know_ I haven't eaten until now. I'm _starving_."

Haru scowled. "You could have gotten doughnuts with Yamazaki."

"Still don't like him, eh?"

Haruka looked away and Rin snorted.

"...I'm sorry, by the way." Haru added some three minutes later. "I didn't mean to let you sleep so late. But when Makoto's phone went off at two..."

Rin groaned his sympathies. "Must have sucked."

"He looked really upset... I had trouble getting back to sleep. I'm sorry."

Rin waved his plastic fork. "Don't be, I'm not actually too pissed. Besides, your food is to die for, so I'm glad I waited."

Haru covered his smile by shoving another chunk of mackerel into his mouth.

* * *

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

Haru and Rin both looked up at the distressed call from the end of the alley and both smiled.

"You're late!" Rin yelled from his spot on the ground.

"I'm sorry I'm sorry I didn't mean to I'm sorry-"

"Makoto," Haru interrupted with a good-natured roll of his eyes. "Rin is teasing."

The brunette- half out of his uniform and bent double panting- looked up and winced.  
"Oh... really?"

"Of course, of course! Sit your butt down and eat, cutie."

Haru handed over the second box that he'd kept close to his side and Makoto accepted it with a kiss to Haru's forehead. As always he took his usual spot leaning against the fence across from Haru. Rin sat in the middle of the alleyway between the two of them. Makoto opened his box and sighed with delight.

"Haru-chan, it smells delicious!"

Haru scowled. "Lay off the-"

"It is delicious," Rin said over him before shoving another forkful of the stuff into his mouth.

"Aha, is that so? Well, I better dig in before it gets any colder, eh? Thanks for the food!"

He said it with such a warm, open smile that Haruka had to look away before either noticed and he hoped his hair could hide the red tint to his ears. How these two could still make him blush after all this time was beyond him. He figured he would have been desensitized to their ways long ago. Instead, they still found ways to surprise him.

* * *

It had taken one day, two wasted minutes of their mutual lunch, and three cars to bring Rin back into their lives.

Haruka had been waiting outside the restaurant with his lunch and Makoto's for a couple of minutes but Makoto hadn't shown. The tardiness wasn't wholly unusual- the brunette had a demanding job- but Makoto should have been off half an hour ago and the drive only ever took fifteen minutes. He'd been waiting uneasily ever since, scuffing the toe of his shoe into cracks in the cobblestone, playing with the plastic bag holding Makoto's cooling lunch. Occasionally he'd glance down at the end of the alley and the cop car parked there.

There had apparently been an accident of some sort just down the street. Unlike half the restaurant, Haruka hadn't bothered to rush and watch the emergency services go to work, but he'd heard at least three cars had been involved. With a quiet sigh Haru sat on the edge of the step to wait. Four fruitless glances up later he finally caught sight of his boyfriend. The fireman was mopping his brow and chatting with the policeman leaning against his car. Haru's brow furrowed, watching how casually Makoto laughed and spoke to this stranger, and a familiar sting of jealousy bit Haru's heart. He could tell even at this distance that the officer was flirting with his boyfriend. The cop's body language, asymmetrical smirk, and the closeness to Makoto belied all that.

Makoto's body, in contrast, spoke of uncomfortable confusion. Haru itched to go and rescue his boyfriend but the second he stood the officer clapped Makoto on the shoulder and Makoto broke into a bright smile. Makoto began to head Haru's way and the cop climbed into his vehicle. Still standing and feeling extremely awkward about it now Haru called out to his boyfriend.

Makoto paused, glancing first back to where the police car had already vanished, then forward and positively beaming at Haruka. "Haru-chan!"

Haru didn't even have to mind to correct him. He was too distracted by the apparent notion that the cop had known Makoto's name because there was no other way he would have looked back to check if it had been the cop.

"He liked you." He spat coldly the second Makoto was in range.

Makoto stopped short. "Eh?"

"The officer. He was flirting with you."

That same uncomfortable confusion flickered across Makoto's expression and he muffled it quickly. "E-eh, he was?"

Haru sighed, rolled his eyes, and thrust the bag holding his boyfriend's lunch at the bewildered brunette.

"You know he was." He grumbled while watching Makoto sniff the contents.

The fireman sighed and folded his long body into a suitable sitting position against the fence opposite the back door of Haru's business. Haru watched him a moment but once it became clear Makoto was simply putting the issue off he sat and opened his own lunch.

It took five minutes for Makoto to stab his plastic fork into his food and set it aside. Knowing the severity of the expression he was facing, Haru did the same.

"I was... uncomfortable about it, to say the least."

Haru scowled. "If he was bothering you, you should have said so-"

"Let me finish, Haru-chan. I didn't know how to respond. I wasn't sure what to do at all, really. You see, Haru-chan, his name tag said Matsuoka. Haru... That was Rin."

For a moment, Haru couldn't think. His world blurred and dimmed and shut down. The next thing he was aware of was a tug on the back of his uniform.

He'd shot upright. His lunch was was spilled across Makoto's lap and the firefighter had lunged halfway across the alley to snag the long edge of his jacket. There was a pained look deep in Makoto's eyes that made Haru squeamish, a betrayal he was trying to hide, and Haru realized his rush to go after Rin had- not for the first time- hurt his friend. Perhaps even broken his heart. Makoto's delicate heart had been broken too many times by Haru's greedy hands.

"Makoto-"

But Makoto masked the pain with a smile as he always did. "Calm down. We know where he is now. It'll be easy to find him. No need to try and catch him right now."  
Haru sat hard on the step, looking from Makoto to his destroyed lunch and back, finally plucking a piece of mackerel out of soft brown hair.

"...I'm sorry."

Makoto just laughed. "I know."

* * *

As chance had it, the next time they came face to face with the boy they'd both ended up chasing to Australia it was after a fire in the restaurant kitchen. Haru had retreated so the firemen could do their job and he'd been sitting on the stair outside when Makoto came running up with tears streaking through the soot staining his cheeks and gathered Haru into his arms.

"You're all right?" He whispered once he'd pulled away to give his lover a once-over.

"I wasn't even near the station that it happened at."

Makoto pressed their foreheads together and tried to control his breathing. Great hiccups and heaving breaths seemed to be all he could manage outside the single sentence he'd initially uttered and Haru found his arms wrapping around his bigger boyfriend as Makoto's legs finally gave out and he slid to the ground.

"I'm so glad... You're all right, Haru-chan."

"I'm all right, Makoto. Now stop calling me '-chan' already."

Makoto didn't need much time to recover and before Haru could really register it Makoto was swiping at his face with a Wetnap. Haru scowled so fiercely his face scrunched up. With a laugh Makoto shook his head and scrubbed harder, evoking a low mutter of complaint.

"Where did you even get that?" Haru grumbled between swipes.

"I always carry a couple for emergency cleaning," Makoto said gently. "Usually for _my_ face!"

"Oi, Makoto! That you? Your captain wants to talk to y- _Haru?!_ "

Haru jumped and Makoto flinched, both of them looking dumbly at the opposite end of the alley, where Rin had frozen solid.

"Rin-" Haru choked out. Six years he'd been anticipating this reunion and of all the times he had to see Rin again it was with Makoto in his arms and regarding him with such tenderness.

Red eyes narrowed. "Your captain wants to see you."

With that vitriolic hiss Rin spun on his heel. Haru didn't know how to react but Makoto leapt to his feet. Within the space of a blink, Makoto was holding Rin captive in the type of position the cop himself should have been using. Rin snarled but Makoto twisted his arm until he whimpered and stopped struggling. There was a very real fear on the fireman's face but his voice betrayed none of it.

"You're going to listen to us."

Rin shrugged once to test Makoto's grip and found it unrelenting. "What is there to talk about, exactly?"

"Everything." Haru said quietly.

The conversation had been clipped and terse but when Makoto explained a couple of things with Haru's occasional input it was clear Rin was curious. Makoto ran off to find his captain clutching Rin's number in one fist.

Officer and chef had been left alone in the alley. Rin studiously looked anywhere but Haru. Haruka couldn't keep his eyes off Rin.  
"All these years and I was looking in the wrong places."

Startled, Rin looked at Haru- and instantly regretted it.

Sapphire eyes were all but shining, Haru staring at him in plain adoration, and it made an uncomfortable flush creep up Rin's neck.

"Where the hell _were_ you trying to look, then?" He asked sharply after moment.

"Every swim magazine Makoto and I could find. The largest natatoriums, when we had time off. We needed to talk to you again, Rin, we have so much to ask you-"

"Save it." Rin growled. Without waiting any rebuttal from Haru he stalked out of the alleyway.

* * *

A call and two 'unofficial' coffee dates after that Rin knew it all.

After he'd moved to Australia in his childhood Haru had wanted so badly to follow him, missing the life and vivacity that Rin brought him. He'd dropped swimming and Makoto had followed him, glad to be rid of swimming and glad to still be a necessary part of Haru's life. Haru had chosen to follow his culinary abilities through (as Makoto had begged of him) and Makoto followed his own aspirations to help people by achieving his childhood dream of being a firefighter by becoming an on-call at the station closest to their apartment.

Somewhere along the way they had become more than friends- Haru said it wasn't something they had really considered until some of their classmates had asked- and realized they were in fact in love with each other and had been for who knew how long. Rin rolled his eyes at that- how could he not?- because yep, the older kids back in the swim club had hit the nail right on the head when it came to those two idiots. They'd been nigh-inseparable all through childhood (horrible river accidents included) and Rin had known in at least some small portion of his being that they were an unassailable thing.

When Haru's parents moved to Australia for business, he leapt at the chance. A painful year of separation later, Makoto settled in at a school there and he and Haru were reunited. They'd found an apartment together because they didn't want to be around Haru's parents all the time and that had been their routine ever since.

"This is great and all," Rin groaned late into the second 'date' as he stirred coffee gone cold. "But I don't know why I need to get a rundown of your life story?"

A smile tinged with sadness was Makoto's first response. "Well you see, Rin... Haru would like... to be with you. To, er, date you. For real, not... not _this_."

Rin cocked a disbelieving eyebrow. " _Huuuhhh?_ You _are_ kidding, right? He barely knows me. Besides, aren't _you_ dating? Isn't that what I spent the last twenty minutes listening to? And if it's some childish ideal of me you're thinking of, I'm not that brat any more."

Haru was frowning (mostly at Makoto) but Makoto just laughed softly. "No, you're certainly not the Rinrin we knew. You've grown. It looks... you look good, Rin."  
The officer would never admit to the blush the simple compliment evoked. "D-don't use that nickname..."

Makoto chuckled. "Okay, okay. Anyway, would you be willing to try things with Haru?"

Rin slipping his cap off, put it in the midst of the table, and ran a hand through his bangs. "This is insane, you know. What do I care if he's been lusting after me for years?"

"Rin, please-"

"It's not just me."

Both Rin and Makoto glanced at Haru, who had crossed his arms and finally gone straight to glaring hard at Makoto. "Makoto _and_ I. That's what we want."

Rin scowled. "You're doing a lot of _assuming_ , Haru. Who says I'm even gay in the first place, much less wanna be gay with two men I barely know? Because I'm telling you now, I'm the furthest thing from interested."

Haru lifted a brow in question. "If you weren't interested you'd have left immediately. Now, who was it who wanted to 'swim in a pool of cherry blossom petals'? I forget."

Rin slammed his hands into the table and rocketed upright. "You little shit! Why is that gay?"

This time even Makoto looked amused. Rin groaned and sat heavily back down.

"So I'm supposed to go ahead and be gay and want the pair of you."

"Only it you want," Makoto said quietly. "We'd never force you, Rin."

The look on Haru's face said he definitely wouldn't mind forcing Rin to see his way.

The officer stood and slapped a couple of bills on the table. "Give me time."

* * *

Makoto apparently had a penchant for texting.

It was something Rin found out when he'd open his phone between random emergencies and find thirty texts (okay, that had just been once) all waiting for him and all from the same sender.

Tachibana Makoto.

Not for the first time Rin had to wonder _why_ he was so persistent. Well, he'd gotten that cockamamie excuse about Haru having been in love with him since they were children... And the worst part of that was Rin couldn't even find that foolish. Not without being a hypocrite. He'd been obsessed with relays as a child and for that purpose, in a move barely anyone in his family understood, he had uprooted himself to track down the boy he knew posted some of the best times. Nanase Haruka. He'd heard all sorts of rumors about Nanase- he didn't even care about the ridiculously good times he posted (madness!) and participated in tournaments only because it was required as a member of the swim club. He hadn't exactly believed that though. Upon meeting Nanase face to face, however, he'd been forced to admit the rumors were true and Nanase was a stuck-up little prick. Tachibana was nothing of the sort, and it was _him_ Rin had set his sights on right afterward, knowing an inroad when he saw one. Befriend Tachibana and Nanase would surely follow. True enough; in no time flat, he was best friends with Tachibana and Tachibana told him everything he wanted to know with a complete lack of guile that was endearing. Rin abused his little information-fount buddy for a time, all the while noting how infuriated Nanase was with the situation, until finally Nanase agreed to the relay.

His jealousy was adorable. They were definitely supposed to be boyfriend and girlfriend like the mean older boys said.

Rin did, by the end, consider himself friends with the amicable Tachibana. He was more a rival to Nanase but that was fine with him. He left Iwatobi for Australia with two things he hadn't had before- the thrill of achieving part one of his dad's dream and Makoto's home phone number.

Calls to the Tachibana residence had always been few and far between and by the time a year had passed in Rin's Australian hell he never bothered to call again. There was no point to it. Regale Makoto- Tachibana- with more and more stories of his failure? No way.

Bitterness shut down his swimming entirely in the next few years and by the time high school rolled around he'd abandoned the pursuit altogether. He had never forgiven himself for that. Instead, he threw himself into police work, his own childhood dream.

At least that had worked out for him.

Until last week, and seeing Makoto again.

Makoto, grown into one _hell_ of a fine man. Makoto with smiles so gentle they actually almost hurt and sleepy green eyes that never held any animosity. Makoto who was _once again_ blowing up his phone with texts and little pictures of inconsequential things. If it weren't the phone-related things, though, Rin had discovered he truly did have the worst luck, because suddenly every other call seemed to need the assistance of the fire department. Which might not have been a bad situation, had Makoto not been the one to suggest some twisted permanent three-way between himself, Haru, and Rin. Now every time he set eyes on the firefighter he had to flush. Worse, every time Makoto vanished into flames Rin's heart wouldn't beat correctly until the brunette reappeared safe and sound and nine times out of fucking ten with an animal under his arm. Occasionally if Makoto laid eyes on him Rin would find he had company a minute or two later, Makoto cheery and light-hearted despite the dying blaze at his back, the few minutes stolen giving them time to talk a little before they'd say goodbye.

At one point, Makoto dropped mention of the restaurant Haru worked at having excellent food and if he were ever hungry he should stop by around two or so.

One day, on a lull in the activity on his walk, he decided he may as well.

* * *

First thing he wanted to know: why was Nagisa here.

Second thing: why was Nagisa wearing a _hideous_ pumpkin-colored space suit straight out of a nineties movie.

Third: good god why did everyone at this restaurant have to look so fucking sexy (minus Nagisa in his horrible space suit). Who the hell even _was_ the sexy nerd scientist?

...okay maybe Rin would admit to being gay.

Makoto lit up immediately as Rin approached. "Rin! You came!"

He flushed and looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. "Y-yeah. Well I'm hungry and I was nearby so I thought- I might... yeah."

"Sit down, sit down!" Makoto urged with a soft laugh, pushing him to a chair. "Rei and I have to go soon, but we ordered strawberry shortcake from Haru! He'll have it out in no time, I'm sure."

'In no time' meant Rin had plenty of time to watch Nagisa attempting to stuff his face from two different angles simultaneously while sexy nerd scientist watched him with disbelief and no small amount of nausea.

"Nagisa, please-"

"Boo, Rei-chan!" The blonde retorted, shoving another mouthful down. "I cah et whaaeva I wahn!"

Sexy nerd scientist dropped his head to the table with a groan. "It's not beautiful..."

Nagisa giggled and set a fork down to pat at blue hair. "It's okay, Rei-chan." Then he set his sights on Rin.

"Hey, Rin-chan!"

Rin flinched.

"Did you see my little guy here?" Nagisa held up a pink... _thing_... with one large heart-shaped eye and a couple of small, vaguely limb-like extremities, topped with antennae that ended in fluff.

"Unfortunately." Rin sighed. "The fuck is that thing?"

"His name's Wobble!" Nagisa declared, hugging the thing. "He's an alien on my TV show and I think he's almost as cute as _penguins_!"

"I have so many questions right now..." Rin said. Nagisa bounced excitedly and gestured for him to continue, so Rin took a moment before asking, "You're an actor?"  
He wasn't quite sure if that should be surprising or not. "And you have your own TV show? And... it's name is Wobble? _Seriously_? What is it even _made_ from?"

"Silicone! You know..." And bubbly Nagisa adopted an expression that was _alarmingly_ coy for such an innocent looking shota brat. "Like the sex toys~"

Sexy nerd scientist backpedaled wildly out of his seat, slamming his chair into the newly arrived Haruka's foot, and Haru promptly leapt a mile, tray full of cake slices upending.

Most splattered across Nagisa's table (the blonde cheered gleefully and dug right into the line of smooshed cake) but one precocious piece smashed right across Rin's temple.

Sexy nerd scientist had the good grace to look startled and apologetic. Haru seemed simply frozen in place.

A chunk of the cake plopped into the table and Rin got to his feet, fixing Haru with a dangerously narrow glare. Haru immediately adopted a blank expression, like he was pretending nothing had happened, and that just ticked Rin right off. He was stalking over to the stoic chef in the space of the time it took half the slice of cake to slide heavily off his head. Makoto was already trying to intervene but Rin pushed him out of the way (decidedly _not_ reflecting on how warm and solid and muscled the fireman was) and got right up in Haru's face. What came next was a fight- Rin snarling in Haru's face, Haru patiently ignoring him, Makoto trying to defuse the fight, sexy nerd scientist standing by looking _extremely_ confused, and Nagisa cheering them on. Both of them. Little shit didn't even pick sides.

* * *

Sixteen apology texts later he agreed to meet them for another one of those 'unofficial' coffee dates. Rin was much more acerbic this week and the change didn't go unnoticed. Haru scowled endlessly at him and Makoto sighed constantly but Rin wasn't exactly about to apologize. It gave him an excuse, in any case, to avoid looking at them. He was having trouble... telling himself he wasn't giving in. Because he was. Their friendship was nice, the promise of what else he could get better, and he trembled inside every time he really allowed himself to imagine it. Maybe he had been in love with Haru all those years ago. Maybe he had some carnal imaginings involving Makoto. The actual _commitment_ was the hard part. More and more, Rin believed he had agreed days ago.

Watching Makoto leave and kiss Haru goodbye made something in him ache and yearn to be a part of it.

He stopped pretending he was unsure. But Rin couldn't tell himself he was ready yet.

He left Haru sitting alone at the table without a word.

* * *

A week passed. Late Sunday night Rin found himself chasing an arsonist down the streets, Sousuke outpacing him, both of them skidding to a halt at the sight of the civilian who had his suspect pinned to the concrete.

Sousuke turned thundercloud-vicious in a mere moment but Rin's jaw had dropped.

Haru had a knee pressed on the arsonist's wrist and Makoto had the man face to the pavement. Clearly, the whole chase had interrupted something intimate between the duo: Haru's shirt hung in two halves, Makoto's entirely missing, and Rin would be damned if they weren't fucking gleaming with sweat under the moonlight.

Darkened green eyes met wide red. "Some handcuffs would be helpful, officers."

Rin fumbled his three times and it was Sousuke who ended up clicking them into place (glaring at an unruffled Haru the whole time) and carting the suspect off.  
Which left Rin standing alone under the close scrutiny of the men he'd already decided to agree to.

Makoto's chest was heaving and Haru's milky-pale and he couldn't fucking look away.

Ignoring Makoto's gentle chiding Haru fixed Rin with a smirk and asked, "Made a decision yet?"

* * *

Rin told them later (tangled together on the mattress in the apartment Makoto and Haru and soon he himself would share) that he hadn't been _able_ to refuse, not when he was being handed his first love on a silver platter and getting Makoto in the package deal had felt like icing on the cake. And he'd certainly had no complaints after agreeing- Makoto's body pinning his tight to the wall of an alley, verdant eyes narrow and hungry and sending shudders of heat down Rin's spine, azure gaze boring into the tableau they made with an intensity that knocked the breath from Rin's lungs and the strength from his legs- and hadn't even been aware that complaining was an option when Makoto took him right there in that dank shadowy alley while Haru watched with eyes fever-bright.

Rin had agreed formally after that and their partnership was formed. Haru cooked and cleaned when they couldn't. Makoto and Rin left at odd hours, any hours, always with apologies and kisses no matter what time they left him in a bed not quite as full as it should have been. And every day, regardless of whether they were working or not, they met at the restaurant at two o' clock sharp to share lunch and tell each other about their days. To be honest, Haru had long ago lost count of how many times he never got a lunch visitor or a bed warmed the whole night through or even a glimpse of either man. It didn't matter; he had what he had always wanted and taking the bad with the good was simply a matter of taking it all in stride.

"Where is Sousuke, anyway?"

Haru jumped, torn from memories and musings, and blinked cluelessly at Makoto, who was looking at Rin. Rin sighed, pushing the last piece of shrimp around in the styrofoam container with a frown- he looked like he was debating eating it but Haru knew he just didn't want the meal to end- and finally met Makoto's eyes with a disappointed expression.

"Rufus was released back to the station earlier, so I'm back to being a K9 cop. Sousuke's still on duty with that annoying Mikoshiba guy."

The rigid set of Haru's shoulders eased a bit. He hadn't really liked Sousuke hanging around Rin all the time. He'd been irrationally jealous (Rin assured him no small number of times that he wasn't going to pursue his best friend and Sousuke was absolutely not interested in _him_ that way) about Rin being around _that guy_ so much but now it finally looked like he'd gotten lucky.

Makoto was elated by this news too, though for different reasons.

"Rufus is okay? Thank goodness! Is he in the car? Can I see him? Oh please, Rin, please?"

Rin scowled and stood, popping the last piece of shrimp into his mouth with his fingers, brushing off the seat of his pants in a movement both his partners paid perhaps a little too much attention to.

"I don't see why not," Rin grumbled. "You're the only one he likes anyway."

As soon as he was released from the car Rufus came rushing down the alley and bowled headfirst into Makoto. Brunette and German Shepherd wrestled playfully for a moment before Rufus wriggled out of Makoto's arms and sat like the good dog he was _supposed_ to be. He immediately received ear scratches and his tail went wild on the cobblestones.

"Oh _honestly_..!" Rin said as he walked back up and stared at the spectacle his dog was making of himself.

"You're a good boy, Rufus, yes you are! Yes you are yes you _are_! No matter _what_ Rinrin says!"

"Oi!"

Rufus curled up next to Makoto and wriggled all over his lap with such absolute canine joy that Rin eyed the dog and muttered, "Traitor."

The rest of their meal was uneventful; small talk and hushed laughter and belly-scratches for Rufus. Rin's radio crackled to life but Sousuke was about a mile closer than he would be even if he left soon and so Rin snickered and told his on-again off-again partner to 'have fun'.

Rin had wandered over to Haru to pull the elder down for a kiss (which became more than just one) while Makoto finished his food slowly to enjoy them as much as he was his lunch.

The radio that crackled next was Makoto's.

He yelped and pushed Rufus off his leg and hopped to his feet. Haru and Rin blinked at him but he hurried over, kissed each of them goodbye, and dashed off.

"Makoto!" Rin called after him. "Take-out container!"

The fireman skidded to a halt, glancing in honest surprise at the styrofoam box under his arm, and yelped a second time. While his partners sighed their amused exasperation he turned and took a contemplative step their way before biting his lip.

Haru rolled his eyes. "Just put it down and get out of here."

Makoto blinked and carefully set the box down and spent at least ten seconds making sure the fork was centered. He finally flashed them the 'okay' sign and ran.

"He's such a dork," Rin sighed, propping his chin on Haru's thigh.

"He really is," Haru agreed with a fond smile as Makoto vanished around the bend.

"And yet we love him anyway."

Another soft, warm smile. "We really do."


End file.
